Wolf Pack posts back-to-back wins in Georgia

THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team closed out a successful Georgia road trip Saturday, defeating Thomas University 83-77. The Pack (13-4, 5-2 SSAC) will now return home for three straight games at The Den, starting with Point University on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. 

Thomas didn't make things easy in the first half, scoring the game's first four points and forcing three straight turnovers. The Pack were scoreless through the first two minutes of play until Reece Seicshnaydre found Kosta Bjelicic inside for a score, the first of the guard's many assists in the afternoon. Leonard Jackson then hit a three to put Loyola ahead for the first time. 

Consecutive layups by Jackson and Bjelicic, plus three-pointers from Seicshnaydre and Kameron Johnson extended the Wolf Pack advantage to 15-8, the largest lead of the first half for either side. The Night Hawks kept things close, however, clawing their way back to eventually tie the game at 27-27 with three minutes left in the half. Johnson scored twice in those final three minutes as part of a 14-point first half for the Wolf Pack point guard, and the Pack went into the break leading 31-27. 

Bjelicic dominated the first few paint possessions of the second half, with Seicshnaydre finding the big man for three layups, including a three-point play. Points from Bjelicic, Seicshnaydre, and Cameron Williams stretched the Wolf Pack lead out to double digits for the first time in an explosive offensive half for both teams. Thomas was never able to overcome the initial scoring outburst that began the second 20 minutes, with Loyola leading by at least six until a late push in the final seconds cut it to four. 

Loyola's largest lead of the game came with two minutes remaining, after Johnson's second three-pointer of the game pushed the score to 81-67. The Pack then did enough to hang on until the final buzzer, though Thomas scored 10 straight to make things interesting late. Within the final 10 seconds, Jaylen Peters blocked an open layup attempt, which would have cut it to a one-possession game, and Jackson hit two final free throws to seal the win. 

Pack Facts

• Leonard Jackson knocked down four of his eight attempts from distance en route to a team-high 22 points. He also made all six of his free throw attempts and was active on the defensive end, contributing two steals and a block.

• Jackson has now hit double figures in scoring in each of his last nine games. Kameron Johnson led the Pack in scoring with 21 points, adding six rebounds, four steals, and four rebounds. 

• Johnson now has 102 total assists this season, giving him over 100 assists in each of the last two seasons. He's the first Wolf Pack player with back-to-back 100-assist seasons since Zach Wrightsil did so in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns. 

• Johnson also has as many steals this season (40) in 16 games as he had in 27 games last season. 

• Kosta Bjelicic, Reece Seicshnaydre, and Georgios Vassilakis each scored 11 points 

• Seicshnaydre also dropped nine dimes against the Night Hawks, surpassing his previous career high of six assists. 

• Off the bench, Jaylen Peters posted another double-digit rebounding game, grabbing four offensive boards and finishing with 10 total boards, plus a steal and a late block. 

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